Myanmar

The ITUC affiliate in Myanmar is the Federation of Trade Unions - Myanmar (FTUM).

There have been positive developments in Burma/Myanmar over the past year, though much work remains to be done. In September 2012, the Federation of Trade Unions – Burma (FTUB), now Federation of Trade Unions – Myanmar (FTUM), and its leaders were permitted to return to the country following decades in exile and to continue their trade union activity. FTUM General Secretary Maung Maung has established an office in Yangon and, in roughly six months, the Federation counts over 130 affiliated unions with 18,000 members.

Click here to see the latest ITUC news and documents about this country.

Legal

last updated: 18 February 2014

Freedom of association / Right to organise

Anti-Union discrimination

The law prohibits anti-union discrimination, but does not provide adequate means of protection against it.

Barriers to the establishment of organisations:

'Prior authorisation or approval by authorities required for the establishment of a union'

The 1988 Order 6/88, known as the Law on the Formation of Associations and Organisations, states that all "organisations shall apply for permission to exist to the Ministry of Home and Religious Affairs". The definition of "organisation" in the Order is extremely detailed and sweeping, Penalties provided in the Order for punishing violations are particularly harsh and may entail imprisonment of up to five years.
The Government stated that currently this law does not apply to workers' organizations.

Excessive representativity or minimum number of members required for the establishment of a union

The Labour Organization Law of 2011 (Art. 4) requires a minimum of 30 workers in the relevant trade or activity to form a trade union together with the support of not less than 10 percent of all workers of the relevant trade or activity. Regional organizations and federations may be formed with the 10% of trade unions and 20% of Federations is required to form the Myanmar Labour Confederation. Furthermore, each stage of the building process from basic enterprise level to national federation and confederation has to be related to a common trade or activity.
These requirements seriously challenge the capacity of workers to form organizations. In particular, the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma has so far not been able to register.

Restrictions on workers' right to form and join organisations of their own choosing:

Single trade union system imposed by law and/or a system banning or limiting organising at a certain level (enterprise, industry and/or sector, regional and/or territorial, national)

The 1964 Law Defining the Fundamental Rights and Responsibilities of the People’s Workers establishes a compulsory and single trade union system for the organisation and representation of workers. However, the Labour Organizations Law still appears to refer to a single labour confederation system.

Restrictions on workers' right to join the trade union of their choosing imposed by law (i.e. obligation to join a trade union of a certain level e.g. enterprise, industry and/or sector, regional and /or territorial national)

According to Article 3 (b) of the Labour Organizations Law, workers can only join organizations of the category of trade or activity related to them. The definition of trade or activity is confusing and could be determined in a arbitrary manner.

Restrictions on trade unions' right to organise their administration:

Restrictions on the right to elect representatives and self-administer in full freedom

Art. 7 of the Labour Organization Law sets the minimum and maximum of representatives on the executive committee at the local, township/regional/federation and confederation level.(3) Furthermore, Art. 5 of the decree of the Labour Organization Law provides that the term of the executive committee is 2 years, and it is unclear whether executive committee members can run for consecutive terms in office.

Restrictions on the right to freely organise activities and formulate programmes

(1) The Labour Organizations Law, Article 25, provides that the monthly contribution by the worker who is a member of the organization shall not exceed two percent of the wages or salary obtained.
(2) In addition, the basic labour organization shall allocate these monthly contributions to the higher labour organizations, federations and confederation as prescribed by the relevant labour federation.

According to the Labour Organization Law of 2011 (Art. 33.b) the Registrar has the power to de-register a trade union if the members do not reach the prescribed minimum numbers (30 - 10%). The support of no-less than 10% of all workers of the relevant trade or activity may be assessed on a discretionary power.

Categories of workers prohibited or limited from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office:

Police

Police officers are excluded from the right to join unions (Labour Organizations Law, Article 2(a)).

Right to collective bargaining

Restrictions on the principle of free and voluntary bargaining:

Imposition of fixed and unreasonable procedural requirements (e.g. short time-limits for reaching an agreement)

The Settlement of Labour Dispute Law (Art. 6 and 7) provides that the parties must reach an agreement within 5 days. After that the dispute is submitted to a procedure of conciliation and arbitration.

Right to strike

Barriers to lawful strike actions:

Excessive representativity or minimum number of members required to hold a lawful strike

According to the provisions of the Labour Organization Law (Art. 38), the trade union desirous to go on strike shall obtain the approval of the majority of the member workers. It is not clear whether this refers only to those taking part in the poll.

Other excessively complex or time-consuming formalities to call a strike

The Labour Organization Law (Art. 41.e) provides that to obtain permission for a strike the organizers must provide information such as the date, place, time, period, number of participants.

Other undue, unreasonable or unjustified prerequisites

The Labour Organization Law (Art. 41.d) prescribes that trade unions cannot go on strike without permission of the relevant labour federation.

Ban or limitations on certain types of strike actions:

Restrictions with respect to the objective of a strike (e.g. industrial disputes, economic and social issues, political, sympathy and solidarity reasons)

Art. 41.d of the Labour Organization Law provides that strikes not relevant to the labour affairs, such as wages, salaries, welfare and working hours or other matters relating to the occupational interest of the workers, shall be illegal. This definition may lead to the prohibition of protest strikes and other types of strikes.

Undermining of the recourse to strike actions or their effectiveness:

Other legal provisions undermining the right to strike

The Labour Organization Law (Art. 41.e) provides that the strike not being in conformity with the date, place, time, period, number of participants and manner as obtained permission in advance may be declared illegal.

In practice

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Arrest of workers09-02-2015

In June 2014, twelve people were arrested for having participated in a demonstration in Mandalay. Several hundred employees of the Chinese-owned Lucky Treasure woodcutting factory in Sinkkaing Township, accompanied by hundreds of supporters, were intercepted by about 500 police officers as they tried to march to Mandalay. The detained activists each face three charges, including violation of Article 505(b) of Myanmar’s penal code. Workers were protesting against the company’s violation of a collective agreement in March 2014. The company tried to force workers to sign new contracts including three-month probationary periods regardless of the seniority of the worker.

No right to collective representation18-05-2014

The Myanmar Maritime Trade Unions (MMTU) has not been registered for more than one year by the Labour Department. Other unions in the same sector have been registered suggesting that the government favours certain unions over others. MMTU reports the lack of accessibility to information concerning collective agreements and working contracts for seafarers. Violations of the right to collective representation have led to abusive precarious relationships enforced by recruitment agencies on workers.

See conciliation, mediation council, which ruled that the employer should comply with the agreement. The employer retaliated by finding minor reasons to discipline the workers involved in the complaint. The employer also refused to allow workers to collect dues, claiming that it was not legal. The employer also claimed that the union was not legitimate because of its association with the FTUM.

Workers prevented from establishing a union01-08-2013

Workers at the Inlay shoe factory in Bago reported employer hostility, including cases of managers physically abusing the workers. Workers were not paid appropriately for overtime, and they were punished with wage deductions when they were sick. The workers had initially tried to form a union with 30 workers but were told by the registrar that they would need 300, as the factory employed 3,000 workers. The registrar allegedly called the factory owner, who then begun to retaliate against the workers who had supported the registration process. Whenever anyone is rumoured to be a union activist, they are usually transferred to separate them from their co-workers. Workers were also instructed not to contact outside organisations. Subsequently, it is believed that the company registered their own management-dominated union with only 30 workers.

There is a complete lack of legally registered workers’ organisations in Burma. Any workers’ organisation has to function underground, and its members face constant threats of repression and reprisal, including detention, torture and criminal prosecution. This applies, for example, to the Federation of Trade Unions-Burma (FTUB), which is affiliated to the ITUC.